The Venturer Page 1

Issue 168 July 2015

Forthcoming Events

Recent outings

Porth Wen June 20th

12 Yachts turned out for a very successful sail to Porth Wen, and as can be seen there were a lot of smiling faces after the barbecue! A turnout like this makes all the planning worthwhile.

See Page 11 for report.

18th

July 1130 Conwy: an evening in Conwy after the crew have helmed in the Irene Goodwin race – real ale and a curry are a strong possibility. See web site

25th

July Summer Cruise 2015

This year’s planned Summer Cruise is to SW Ireland and has been planned with different objec-tives in mind to cater for as many members needs as possible. For those who want a gentle fort-night holiday, there is Waterford with its Marina right in the heart of the city and its many attrac-tions – Cathedrals, Waterford Crystal, Pubs and Restaurants and for those wanting a full on sail-ing cruise there is the Fastnet Rock and Baltimore, with other equally attractive destination in-between including Kinsale and Cork.In the club house is a poster with a montage of ideas and passage planning suggestions kindly drawn up by Dave and Georgina Clough, so either use the Event Notice Board on the web site if you are thinking of coming along so you can perhaps sug-gest other attractions either on the way or on the SW coast. (dependent on winds!).

See more information on this and other events on page 5

Page 2

Commodore’s Corner

Commodores report - July 2015

Well, the weather seems to be settling at long last, although weekends still haven't been as kind to us as

weekdays. It always seems that we gear up ready for the weekend only to have our hopes dashed by

strong winds. Sailing has been sparse due to this, but a great turnout to Porth Wen on 20th June saw 12

yachts moored and a great communal BBQ and cocktail competition. More about this from Mike later in

this issue.

We managed a week away at Whitsun on Avalon, visiting Ardglass, Belfast and Peel before running back

home ahead of the 59 mph blow which arrived in Anglesey on the Tuesday following our return. I know

that the Anglesey circumnavigation also had to be cut short due to strong winds which is frustrating for all

crews.

The clubhouse redevelopment has not progressed as I would have hoped, so on this note I now propose

that we should reconfigure the existing layout and utilise the space we already have, but with better lay-

outs for the showers to make them into cubicles and so more user friendly.

This will be a full makeover, include insulating all the external walls and ceilings and include replacing

the floor and insulation, along with new basin's, toilets, cubicles etc.

If we are all agreed, I would like to pencil this work in for early January. So, many willing hands make

light work as they say......

If you are willing to help out with this project in any way, please contact your Commodore to make your-

self known, and how you can help with the works to be done.

It is good to see members cruising individually with Genesis making Southern Ireland, Hunters Moon and

Symphony heading North to Scotland, and Mentor circumnavigating Ireland along with our more adven-

turous members Nightsong, sailing around the UK!

Our mantra has always been Cruising in Company and it is doing this that builds confidence in beginners,

spreads local knowledge to boat owners new to our area and increases our enjoyment of sailing in general.

On that subject, the Summer Cruise is once again planned for Southern Ireland but as this is very weather

dependent, ( it may end as Scotland for the third summer in succession ). Wherever we end up, I'm sure

that we will make the most of the local hospitality and enjoy our sailing to the full.

Congratulations to Mike Butterfield who has been appointed to sit on the RYA Coastal Navigation Panel

to represent Wales. I'm confident that he will do an excellent job and represent Wales admirably.

So fair winds and smooth crossings to you all and I look forward to seeing you on the water.

Lee

Your commodore

Just a note about any issues concerning the Clubhouse and grounds — if you know of anything that you feel needs

to be addressed, please let me know.

Thanks , Paul Morton, House Officer

YOUR CLUBHOUSE

The Venturer Page 3

View from the Rear

A View from the Rear.

We are now halfway through the season and the weather has played a large part in club activi-

ties. Considering the weather, I don’t think we’ve done too badly managing to modify the pro-

gramme to suit the conditions. The first of the club cruises was a massive success with a number

of yachts taking part. The piece de resistance was a trip to Four Mile Bridge in the dinghies. We

still have some interesting weekends to come, the final cruise in company with the RWYC our

Family weekend and a trip around the walls of Caernarfon. With the weather patterns settling

down now we can look forward to the rest of the sailing programme and seeing more Venturers

out there. You make the Programme a success!!!

Mike Hollingworth

Rear Commodore.

Dogs and the Clubhouse

A Polite reminder:

Dogs are not allowed in the clubhouse, no matter how small the dog is!

There is one rule and it applies to all members and their pets – there are no

exceptions!

All dogs must be kept on a lead within our clubhouse grounds and you are re-

minded that it is an offence to allow a dog to behave in such a way that makes

a person worried that it might attack or injure them.

Thank you for your co-operation

A reminder from the Committee

Page 4

IMPORTANT CHANGES TO BANK DETAILS AND PAYPAL

With effect from 1st July, our club banking has been transferred to

Santander, from NatWest.

Could anyone paying via internet Banking please check that the sort code

and account code that they are using is the correct one as quoted on their

invoice or letter and not the one that they have used historically!

Many thanks for your co-operation.

You can pay in any of the following ways:

1. By internet banking (please contact Sue Beetlestone beetle.sue@gmail.com for account details)

If you pay by internet banking, please use your surname and boat name as ID on the payment.

2. By cheque made out to NWVYC (please send to Sue Beetlestone at the address below).

Please note, if you have paid via Paypal in the past the Club has incurred considerable charges for this, and so the option of paying by this method is now being discontinued.

If you have any changes to the details held by the Club, please send relevant changes to Sue Beetlestone, 6, Mon-mouth Way, Boverton, Llantwit Major CF61 2GT or change them via the website (http://www.nwvyc.org.uk/members/RenewSubs2015.html )

50 CLUB

There have been two draws held since the last Venturer and our winners are as follow:-

May

1st No 23 Lee Downes on Avalon

2nd No 38 unsold and still available!

3rd No 27 David and Pam White on Spindrift

June

1st No 38 unsold and still available!

2nd No 21 Sue and Graham Beetlestone on Mentor

3rd No 02 Joy Bennett on Avalon

Some members have chosen not to renew this year so there are numbers available for purchase – by joining, you will not only be helping

the club to raise funds but have a real chance of winning! Please contact me if you would like to be included – you get 14 chances during

the year with £50 being the first prize each month, £20 the second and £15 as third prize. If you join this month, your last draw will be

June 2016 so you get the full quota of draws.

The draws on the Start of Season and End of Season night include a one off £150 prize for the first ball drawn.

Joy Bennett

The Venturer Page 5

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

25th

July Summer cruise

As you may have noticed on the front page the destination of the Summer Cruise is Southern Ireland but it all depends on the wind forecast nearer the time. With this in mind, the destination could be changed nearer the time, and if so, this will be decided during the week before the 25th so

keep a watch on the website.

1st

Aug 0920 Llanddwyn: Pirate themed Family and Friends weekend with plenty of fun and a kite flying competition

8th

Aug Beaumaris: A weekend based around sailing from the bay with a fishing compe-tition and DIY BBQ at the clubhouse Prize for the biggest catch. Bar opens 1800 Hrs BBQ’s lit shortly after!

15th

Aug 1235 Moelfre: Lifeboat open day in Moelfre and the Round Anglesey Race, BBQ on the beach and enjoy the entertainment put on in the village

22nd

Aug 1320 Porth Dinllaen: The first visit of the season to PY cruising in company with the Royal Welsh Yacht Club. BBQ on the beach and music at the Ty Coch.

29th

Aug 1020 Isle of Man: Trip to Isle of Man for Bank Holiday weekend where the Manx Grand Prix is being held as part of the Isle of Man Festival of Motorcycling. The Seamint Trophy Race will be run this weekend as part of the trip with yachts re-turning either on Bank Holiday Monday or overnight into Tuesday.

5th

Sept 1400 Afternoon passage to Caernarfon with an opportunity to walk the Town Walls if time allows.

12th

Sept 0930 Our final visit of the year to Conwy with a reserve date for any racing if re-quired. Crew’s choice as to whether they go into the Marina or on a river berth and use the water taxi.

If you have any articles, stories or photos that you think would be of interest to other

members of The North West Venturers please send them to “editor@nwvyc.org.uk”

Lighthouses and horns at point of Ayre, Isle of Man

Page 6

OBITUARY— HARRY PUTTICK

Harry Puttick NWVYC Member

We have been notified of Harry Putticks passing by David White who writes :-

In the early 1990’s Harry bought ‘Calypso’ a Halcyon 23 which he sailed to Cardigan

Bay, IOM, Strangford Lough and the Clyde usually in company with George Hollis and

‘Sabre Shadow’. He was one of the three musketeers from West Kirby (third person

being John Henderson from ‘Sapphire’) who kept their boats in the bay at Beaumaris

but laid up at West Kirby. Just Over ten years ago while in the IOM at Castletown, he

found ‘Celosia’ a Colvic 30 that required some TLC which he brought back to Beau-

maris. He laid her up at Gallows Point and spent many hours refurbishing her and so

spent more time with other Venturers based in the Bay. He was still sailing ‘Celosia’ in

his 80th year on his own usually, though his son Ian joined him as often as work permit-

ted. He always said we underestimated the beauty of the Straits and he liked nothing

more than sitting on ‘Celosia’ drinking coffee and reading a book during the day or in

the evening enjoying a ‘wee dram’ watching the day end over Snowdonia.

RIP.

The Club would like to welcome:-

Alfred Wynne-Jones of Gwynedd, who sails “Spirit of Orelia”, a Chapman and Hewitt 34.

Welcome to the Committee

I am delighted to announce that Jenny Barcroft has agreed to join the Management

Committee at the club and was co-opted on Sunday 5th July.

She will be a very capable pair of hands arranging our social functions, and I'm sure that you

will all give her your full support and assistance in heading up this role.

Kind regards

Joy Bennett

Hon. Secretary

Welcome to a new member

The Venturer Page 7

DINNER DANCE REMINDER

I know November seems a long way off, but just a reminder to keep

your diaries free for the 21st of November. Booking slips and menus

will be in the next Venturer, and the usual deals are expected from par-

ticipating hotels.

Delivering a yacht from Holland to France The delivery trip.

“I’ve put the boat up for sale”, said my friend Stuart on the phone.

“Are you giving up”?

“No I’ve bought a bigger one”.

“Oh! What is it”?

“A Maxi 1100, but there is a problem, it’s in Holland”.

“And you want it brought back to North Wales”?

“Err no, I want to take it to Southwest France where you used to keep your boat, and I was wondering, as you know the

Brittany and Atlantic coasts, if you could give me a hand”.

I hummed and harred a bit as I had plans for this season involving the TT in the Isle of Man and the tall ships in Belfast,

but when Stuart said that I could use the boat when he wasn’t, it swayed the argument definitely in his favour.

So Wednesday 20th May saw Stuart the owner, Andy a tough ex squaddie from Liverpool, and myself, the ancient mari-

ner, on the overnight ferry to Rotterdam,

After a help your-self breakfast on board we caught the shuttle bus to the centre of Rotterdam, the metro to somewhere unpro-

nounceable and a bus to Bruinisse in southern Holland where the boat was kept. The broker and previous owner were there to

meet us, and once the paperwork was completed, stowed our gear, and as it was still early in the day, set off through a lock and

into the Dutch canal system, making for Roompot, where there is the main lock for letting us out into the North Sea. There is a

good marina before the lock and so we decided to stay there overnight and make an early start on the Friday.

As we hadn’t sorted out the cooking arrangements we found a café close to the marina for a meal. The waitress must have

learnt her English by watching episodes of the Sopranos and she made us an offer we couldn’t refuse and we were soon tucking

into a mixed grill washed down with Dutch beer.

Friday dawned dull and miserable as we set off and calling up the lock they opened the gates and we sat in this huge lock

while the North Sea poured in. Once through all thought of sailing quickly disappeared as the wind was right on the nose and

we started up the Volvo and headed south. The idea was to head for Dunkirk but after eight hours of slamming into oncoming

seas we diverted to Ostend and the marina run by the Royal Ostend Yacht Club where they also have a fine restaurant of which

we took advantage.

As they say in the song, what a difference a day makes, for the wind has shifted overnight to become a brisk north-

easterly and although it was still dull we could at least put the sails up. I must tell you about the sails - they were less than three

years old, laminated material of some sort, designed for racing, setting beautifully and an absolute pig to get down. We had full

sail up and the boat took off touching ten knots at times as we flew down the coast. We stormed past Nieuwpoort, Dunkirk,

dodged ferries coming to and out of Calais, round Cap Gris Nez and into Boulogne to tie up amongst the fishing boats in the old

harbour. The next day we walked up the hill to the old walled town with its medieval buildings and cobbled streets and had a

beer in the square. We decided to stay overnight so went to a local bistro for our first moules and frites of the voyage. The die-

sel pump in the harbour is located in a shallow area and Stuart was reluctant to take the boat there with his two metre draft. An-

yway we had half a tank, the forecast was for northerlies so an overnighter to Cherbourg was on the cards. Cont. over.

Page 8

Delivery trip—cont. What could possibly go wrong?

What went wrong was that although we set off in fine fashion the wind soon died and we were becalmed, so the decision was

made to make for Dieppe and fill up the tank. Again we stayed overnight and set off the following morning with a full tank and

little wind. The sea was calm and we were doing six knots and as night fell we were about to enter the ferry lanes between the

south coast of England and Le Havre and Caen, so on with the navigation lights. That’s when we noticed a little sign on the

auto-pilot saying “battery low”. How could that be, we had been motoring for hours and the batteries should have been well

topped up. Stuart is an electrical engineer so it’s out with meter and head down in a locker only to confirm that indeed the bat-

teries were not charged, only the engine starter battery was receiving current. Stuart did clever things with bits of wire but to

conserve what electricity there was we switched off the navigation lights and ran blacked out. Picture the scene, ferries coming

and going, we are approaching the Cherbourg peninsula where the lines of traffic going up and down the Channel get quite

close to the land and we have no lights. Heart stopping stuff and it was a very long night but eventually the long breakwater at

Cherbourg showed up in the approaching dawn and we thankfully tied up in the marina.

If you have electrical or mechanical problems then Cherbourg is not a bad place to be. There are dealers and workshops

all around the harbour and by this time Stuart had decided that one of the diodes in the rectifier was dud so it was off to the Vol-

vo dealer for a spare. Not that they will sell you a diode you have buy the whole unit so eighty pounds later we have a new rec-

tifier and Stuart is pulling the boat apart. The new rectifier is fitted and when the engine is switched on there are massive

amounts of current feeding into the batteries. We are back in business.

We left Cherbourg at 0600 hours after filling up with diesel and motored into a head wind and by 0900 hours we were

abeam of Cap de la Hague and bashing our way through vicious overfalls that mark the start of the Alderney Race which we

had timed to be with us. The race itself proved to be quite benign and by 1000 hours we had passed Alderney and were heading

for St Peters Port on Guernsey where we arrived at 1330 hours and tied up on the waiting pontoon waiting for enough water

over the sill to allow us into the inner marina. We finally made it into Victoria Marina

by 1600 and were allocated a finger berth designed for a twenty-five footer.

St Peters Port is a fine town but the marina is crowded and to accommodate all the yachts that want to come here the ma-

rina has short pontoons to maximise the number of boats that it can take. I saw two yachts whose skippers absolutely refused to

try and park their boats in the space provided. The Maxi can turn on a sixpence so we had no problem but it still cost us thirty

pound a night and four pounds if you wanted electricity. I don’t think we will be in a hurry to come back even though the town

is delightful. Unfortunately while in harbour we lost Andy as he had a business meeting which although he tried to change the

date, it proved to be impossible, so he caught the high speed cat to Poole. He would be sorely missed as although he was more

mountaineer than sailor he appeared to be immune to sea sickness and would cheerfully prepare meals down below with the

boat standing on its ear.

On Saturday 30th May with another early start we left St Peters Port heading for Roscoff which has had a new marina

built by where the ferry from Plymouth docks. The last time I was in Roscoff I had to go into the old harbour which we shared

with a large fishing fleet, so I was interested to see this new enterprise. The channel to it is not well marked and you share it

with the ferries which have priority but from some distance off you can see the forest of masts on boats moored up and this

proves to be a good aiming point. The entrance is controlled by lights but we went straight in as there were no ferry movements.

This is truly a lovely marina with plenty of space to turn and finger berths of the proper length and with proper cleats unlike

some of the marinas further south. The marine office is set amongst shops and cafes and the overnight charge is twenty one

pounds and all the electricity and water you can use. Compare this with the charges at St Peters Port. The showers and toilets

are very plush with constant hot water and even hair dryers which upset Stuart as he is bald. We noticed that a lot of British

boats were in the permanent berths obviously people keeping their boats here and coming across on the ferry when they want to

sail, and who can blame them. We stayed for three days while storms raged outside winds force eight and more but we were

snug inside. `We went into the old town which most people miss as they drive off the ferry and head south, but they are missing

a real treat. Roscoff is where the “Onion Johnnies” started and gave rise to the caricature of a Frenchman with a string of onions

round his neck and a bicycle. Onions are still a big crop in the district but the bikes have disappeared.

We left Roscoff on Wednesday 3rd June into another head wind and not only a left-over sea from the storm but also a

westerly three metre swell coming in from the Atlantic. The combination of these three factors gave us a very uncomfortable

ride and we were glad to see the Libenter buoy which marks the entrance to L’aberwrac’h.

This is another place where a marina has sprung up since I was here last and again the facilities are very good. The only prob-

lem is if you want supplies they are only available in a village two miles away up a hill. L’aberwrac’h is a good place to wait to

get your timing right for the Chenal du Four, the first of two gates on the west coast of Brittany. The idea is to leave L’aber-

wrac’h one hour before high water Brest, which puts you at the start of the Chenal at half ebb. You then ride the tide down

reaching the end of the Chenal at slack water ready to ride the incoming tide up to Brest or Cameret. We got it wrong. We had

forgotten how fast this boat is and arrived at the Le Four lighthouse an hour early but with the tide under us there was no prob-

lem and we just had to punch an easing tide up to Cameret.

Cameret was its usual charming self with coloured houses and shops along the sea wall and two marinas to choose

from, the newer outer marina which fine but a long way from the shops and the other one much closer to the town. We were

lucky to find a space in the latter. Cameret has a big “Super U” supermarket and we stocked up with supplies and posted some

cards for home. A meal at one of the restaurants on the front and we had a long night’s sleep as we didn’t have to be up at the

crack of dawn. Cameret is like L’aberwrac’h as it enables you to get your timing right for the second Brittany gate the Raz de

Sein. The Raz needs to be passed half an hour before high water Brest so we didn’t have to leave until three fifteen in the after-

The Venturer Page 9

Delivery trip—cont’

noon. During the morning we met up with a single-hander Jim Mottram who was well into his eighties and was sailing an Eliza-

bethan 23. He was on his way to Spain for the summer. Jim was a boat builder and had spent most of his working life building

Pintails and Curlews for Rossiter Yachts of Christchurch. He had also written articles for Yachting Monthly and had circumnav-

igated the British Isles. A remarkable man.

We arrived at the Raz de Sein twenty minutes early and although there was swirl in the sea we passed through without

any problems and arrived in St.Evette where we picked up a mooring. St Evette lies at the mouth of a river that runs up to Au-

dierne a delightful Breton town but the channel up to the town is marked by chevrons painted on walls which you have to line up

so it is tricky and not really suitable for deep keelers. Anyway we gave it a miss and set off the next day, Saturday, initially in-

tending to call in at Benodet but as the wind increased we realised that we could get further in the day and toyed with the idea of

going to Port Tudy, on Ile de Groix, but then thought that because the weather was fine and it was the weekend, every man and

his dog would be making for the island. Lorient the big naval base is opposite Ile de Groix and has a choice of at least three ma-

rinas so if one is full you should be able to find a place at the other two. Lorient has a control tower set into the old citadel at the

entrance to the harbour to warn of big ship movements but nothing was moving as we entered. We passed the sinister German U

-boat pens and turned into Kernevel marina on our port side and took the last space on the hammer-head on the visitors’ pon-

toon. But there was no time for sight-seeing as we didn’t know how long the good weather would last nor how long the north-

easterly wind would continue to push us. So at eight o’clock the next morning after filling with diesel we sailed south. Again

Belle Ile was ruled out because of overcrowding and we decided to head for Pornichet.

We soon passed Quiberon and Quiberon Bay which leads up to the Gulf of Morbihan, a vast playground in its own right

though we didn’t have time to stop and passed between the islands of Houat and Hoedic and Belle-ile. Ferry traffic was busy

taking day-trippers out to the island and the sea a mass of white sails but once past the islands we had the sea to ourselves until

we started to close Pornichet. The marina was very busy but we managed to find a short space again on a hammer-head and with

the help of a Frenchman tied up and made our way to the showers. Pornichet is connected by a long sandy beach to la Baule

which is a holiday destination for the rich and famous, and the avant-garde architecture all along the front reflects this. No time

for sight-seeing though and we left early Monday morning. At least the weekend was over.

With the weather still fine and the wind in the right direction though forecast to increase to force six or seven we were

aiming to get to Les Sables d’Olonne before it got any worse. We crossed the entrance to St Nazaire dodging the big ships that

were waiting to come in on the high tide and passed one of my favourite islands, Ile d’Yeu, and the marina at Port Joinville were

I spent many happy hours cycling with my wife. The port of Les Sables is approached between two sea walls which pro-

ject south-westerly from the sandy shore so coming from the north this is another place that you have to go past and then come

back on yourself. By this time the wind was gusting to thirty knots and as we turned for the entrance this was right in our face.

No sails by this time but the Volvo had to work hard to get us into the protective arms of the sea walls. Les Sables has a unique

harbour office set up on the sea wall with a pontoon below it where you tie up, report to the office and pay your dues. They then

draw you a little map showing you what pontoon you are on and the number of the berth. Les Sables d’Olonne is the starting

point of the Vendee-Globe round the world yacht race and the whole marina area is very much geared to this. Needless to say

you can get anything you want for your boat or get the boat repaired if need be.

The forecast for Tuesday didn’t change - still strong winds from the Northeast but soon we would be in the shelter of the

two islands that lie opposite the port of La Rochelle and not far past them is the entrance to the river Charente and our final des-

tination of Rochefort. We timed our departure so that we would be coming into the river on a rising tide as there is a bar across

the entrance and this meant leaving Les Sables at noon. We passed between the islands of Ile de Re and Ile d’Olonne and on to

Ile dAix which is the last piece of French soil that Napoleon stood on after his defeat at Waterloo. The entrance to the river is

marked by small buoys and is not easy to find your way into though we managed but when we got to the small town of Port de

Barque in the estuary where we had intended to stay the night on a mooring, it was so rough that we decided to carry on up the

river and take a chance on finding a spare mooring at the Rochefort sailing club. Luckily there was a spare one which we picked

up and stayed overnight as the lock into the marina at Rochefort didn’t open until the morning. At least we had a quiet night and

in the morning motored gently up river arriving at the lock by eleven and tied up to the waiting pontoon until midday when the

lock opened. The marina staff remembered me and I had phoned friends who still had a boat in the marina and they were there to

take our lines. A lot of handshaking and introductions were made which made Stuart feel very much at ease and for me it was

almost like coming home.

Rochefort marina is totally secure from the weather and is surrounded by all that you would need to make your stay

comfortable. There are chandlers, supermarket, launderette , boulangerie for fresh bread, a tool store and numerous cafes to

choose from. Rochefort itself is laid out on a grid pattern as you might expect from a town designed by the military. It was once

an important naval base with an arsenal and dry docks, some of which are being restored. The town was tucked up the river to

avoid the attentions of the Royal Navy during our many disputes with France. There is a weekly street market when whole

streets are taken over by highly coloured stalls selling produce locally produced and there is a direct rail link to La Rochelle and

on to the airport with flights to Manchester and Birmingham. All in all not a bad place to keep a boat and I’m sure Stuart will

have a lot of fun exploring the area.

Paul Edgar

Page 10

NEW ENGINE FOR SARICO

Engine change

Following our trip to Dusseldorf and looking round the yachts of our dreams Georgina and I had several

discussions about long term yacht strategy, and we came to the conclusion that for the foreseeable fu-

ture Sarico would remain our yacht of choice. The Yanmar 3GMD (3 cylinder 20Hp) fitted is we believe

older than Sarico – it having been a reconditioned engine when installed some 16 plus years ago. Whilst

reliable and not leaking or burning any oil (cylinder head overhauled some 6 years ago) when we came to

sell Sarico any buyer would view the engine with scepticism, and potentially pose an obstacle to a quick

sale. So we made the decision to fit a new engine now so we could gain the benefit of a new engine over

the coming years, and still have an engine with low hours when we came to sell.

Having read and heard of various horror stories of engine changes, and spoken to EP Barrus (the UK

Yanmar distributor) we decided to go for a simple option – take a 20hp Yanmar out, and put a 20hp

Yanmar in. The new 3YM20 was dimensionally the same as the 3GMD except one pair of engine mounts

were 15mm different (fore and aft dimension) so no cutting and carving of engine bearers. Things like

prop shaft centres, prop shaft diameter, propeller size all stayed ‘as is’. We asked for pricing from all the

North West Yanmar agents, and ABC Powermarine came up with a competitive price. Menai Marine at

Victoria Dock quoted another competitive price for fitting it, and it had the advantage of being our home

berth so anti fouling / anodes could be done at the same time.

We hauled out on the Thursday, and by the Friday afternoon the old engine was out and awaiting collec-

tion by the buyer who had seen it in situ and working. I spent the weekend clearing out the old foam

engine insulation, and painting the engine bay, and returned home. I returned on the Thursday to find

the new engine in, complete with a new control panel position in the cockpit rather than within a locker

– to make the moulding a small roasting dish had been used by Menai Marine to make a mould. Some

final connections for new diesel lines (including a new main filter with inbuilt priming pump) and some

modification to battery charging, and we launched on the Tuesday.

ABC came over the inspect the installation, and were happy so long as an anti-syphon loop was fitted

which Menai Marine did the following day. As well as the engine, the flexible coupling and dripless shaft

seal were replaced as a precaution – having everything stripped down made it a sensible move. We then

fitted new engine insulation to the engine bay.

On our first run out at maximum throttle the back end of Sarico sat down so far that water was bubbling

up the scuppers, and we had a very impressive wake! She starts first touch of the button, and stops the

same way – no more handles to pull.

So, what did it cost? Taking into account the engine purchase price, the fitting and all the miscellaneous

parts purchased including insulation, less the sale price of the old engine the total cost was £5,639.

The Venturer Page 11

Sarico’s new engine (cont’)

Porth Wen June 20th

This was always going to be a busy weekend for the Venturers, a Night Sail, the Sprint Trophy, the annual Cocktail Competition and finally the

first of our Joint Cruises. Unfortunately the latter didn’t come to fruition as call from TCSC informed me that they were not going to come

along, given the forecast for Sunday.

No problem, we had a number of Venturers all waiting for the tide at the club. The forecast for the weekend on the inshore gave us F3-4 W on

Saturday with F4-5 occasional 6 on the Sunday. Information from our Night sailing division confirmed that the weather was beautiful and

Porth Wen is well sheltered. All we had to do given the light breeze in the bay was to decide where to start the race? A quick debate occurred

and a start from the Beaumaris was decided with a view to restart should the wind disappear from Ten Foot Bank. With the wind on our tails

seven yachts set about the race with three other yachts joining the cruise. Once we’d rounded all the channel buoys, as usual, the wind direc-

tion changed as we went through Puffin Sound, straight on the nose! It was an unusual passage, the breeze was stronger inshore with some

big holes offshore. All but one yacht finished the race with some struggling to get within the half mile finishing line restriction.

Arriving late on, we all convened on the beach once everyone was happy with their anchoring with some of the Venturers doing a little danc-

ing around the bay. We all enjoyed a quick BBQ before the main event of the evening - the Cocktail competition.

Two judges were found relaxing on an inflatable sofa, yes an inflatable sofa! Mark and John were then presented with various cocktails, some

being just a potent mix of spirits, and others being presented with a poem or a fancy glass, each individual in their own right. The judges had

to do some careful deliberation but finally did come up with a winner.

1st Sylvan – Nigel, Ann & Alice Presented a cocktail in a little boat along with a fantastic little song “Where off to Puffin Island”

2nd Davico – Jo Presented their Bask Mock tail with a little poem about Ebb & Flow

3rd Mood Indigo – Jen presented H2O much to the confusion of the judges until the label was revealed “Shearwater”

I would like to thank all the other competitors for their enthusiasm including The Ships Cat.

The next morning the wind had picked up just as the forecast had predicted we all set off some just setting a genoa others like ourselves set-

ting two reefs in the main and putting a little genoa out. Exiting Porth Wen a large following sea had built up but with the wind on the starboard

side this presented no problem and we soon cutting through the water on our way back. Two days of fantastic sailing and some wonderful

company that’s what being a Venturer all is about.

Mike Hollingworth, CHINOOK See picture on front page

PORTH WEN SAIL JUNE 20th

Pictures of

Sarico’s en-

gine bay,

with the old

engine on

the left and

the new one

fitted on the

right.

Page 12

PICTURE GALLERY

Picture Quiz -

Where is this?

See answer at bottom

of page 5.

Above - Engine control panel on Sarico with

fibreglass housing made using an oven dish as a

mould! See write up on page 10.

Above and left—

An atmospheric shot of the lighthouse at

Llanddwyn Island taken during Zygo’s

Easter cruise, and above, the same loca-

tion during perfect weather!